Allan Blood

Allan Blood is the Executive Chairman of the Australian Energy Company which aims to develop coal gasification and coal to liquids projects in Victoria. The company is the proponent, via the Australian-American Energy Company LLC, of the Many Stars Coal-to-Liquids project.

Background
A biographical note on the AEC website states that Blood "was the founder and Chairman of Australian Power & Energy Limited (APEL), now Monash Energy Limited. APEL was formed in 1998 to develop the Victorian Power & Liquids Project, the AU$5 billion coal to gas to liquids and power project. Following the takeover by Anglo in 2004 Mr Blood formed AEC and initiated the company’s current undertaking. Mr. Blood has both domestic and international project development experience. Previous roles include Managing Director of Value Engineering Australia, Executive Chairman of the Bulgarian-Australian Manganese Company and Executive Chairman of Schefferville Iron & Minerals Inc in Canada."

Labor Party donor
Australian Electoral Commission records reveal that on September 20, 2004 Blood donated $100,000 to the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party through Ferrara Holdings Ltd, which was listed in official returns as a trustee for the Jackson Family Trust.

Bill Birnbauer reported in The Age that the "shareholders and directors of Ferrara Holdings are Trevor Allan Blood and Sally Jean Blood. Australian Electoral Commission documents show that Ferrara Holdings failed at first to declare the donations. The commission alerted the company in October last year to a requirement that donations of more than $1500 had to be declared. A company representative wrote back in December saying, 'I was aware that political parties had to disclose donors but not the other way around.'"

Blood rejected the suggestion that he could have made the donation to buy influence. "I was long out of it by then, so it had nothing to do with that and it wasn't even solicited. I just think they're (the Government) doing a great job and I was keen to help." The then Perth-based businessman stated that he had property and start up companies in Victoria. "I'm even a member of the Liberal 500 Club over there," he said. In 2004-05 Ferrara Holdings donated $10,000 to the WA Liberal Party on February 21, 2005. The Australian Energy Company Ltd "gave Labor's funding arm, the Progressive Business Association, a further $9250. Mr Blood became a director of Australian Energy Company Ltd in November 2004."

Australian Electoral Commission records reveal that Blood contributed a further $200,000 to the Victorian branch of the Labor Party on December 14, 2006.

Submission to the Garnaut review
In a submission to the first Garnaut review on carbon pricing, Bloodd warned against the introduction of a carbon tax or price via and emissions trading scheme. Describing the coat-to-fertiliser project as "ready for commercial commitment" he argued that "we do not consider any of the technology blocks to be 'first of a kind' or technically unproven. This is very critical to the projects Bankability. Every component of this projects flow sheet has been successfully implemented elsewhere in the world." However, Blood warned, "the potential for a carbon tax via a form of emissions trading is a major economic issue for this project if it occurred prior to the project being able to geo-sequester its carbon dioxide via the dedicated CO2 pipeline facility the Victorian Government plan to facilitate. It would in fact preclude the project from going ahead based on the indicative number of A$40/tonne. We have modelled this privately with the Victorian Government Department of Primary Industry which encompasses energy related projects."

Affiliations

 * Non-Executive Chairman, MKY Corporation

Contact details
22 Dalby Road Hovea W A 6071 Telephone: (08) 9298 9588 Facsimile: (08) 9298 9522 Email : ablood AT ausenergyco.com.au Website: http://www.ausenergyco.com.au/

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Researching coal in Victoria
 * Victoria and coal


 * Australia and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage
 * Carbon Capture and Storage in Australia
 * New South Wales and coal
 * Queensland and coal

External articles

 * Jane Cowan, "Coal the answer to petrol crisis, says industry", The World Today, June 3, 2008.
 * Shaun Mallia, "Fertile ground", Latrobe Valley Express, June 5, 2008.
 * Royce Miller, "The high price for coal's Holy Grail", The Age, November 4, 2009.